New car registrations in the UK fell to their lowest October level since 1991, according to new data published on Thursday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Iran PressEurope: The number of new cars registered last month was a total of 106,265, representing a 24.6% fall last year. Plug-in vehicles accounted for 16.6% of all cars registered so far this year.

“In fact, plug-in vehicle uptake rates have accelerated so rapidly that SMMT forecasts that more will join Britain’s roads in 2021 than during the whole of 2010 to 2019 combined. Businesses and consumers are expected to take up around 287,000 of the latest zero-emission capable cars by the end of the year,” SMMT said.

The trade association for the UK motor industry also highlighted how chip shortages and tax rises have led to the industry expecting to finish the year on 1.66m units, or only 1.9% ahead of Covid-hit 2020.

“Despite this strong performance in electrified vehicle registrations, the overall market’s monthly performance was the weakest seen since October 1991.1 Demand from large fleets fell by a substantial 40.4%, driving most of the decline.

“Private demand fell by a more modest 3.3%, although this apparent small decline is compared against weak consumer uptake during the pandemic-affected October 2020,” the press release said.

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